All is not Lost
by CyndraDragon
Summary: While returning home after a long mission, unexpected circumstances force team Gai to take residence in the home of a mysterious hermit. What is she hiding? What they find, they thought was lost forever.
1. Chapter 1

My first story. Criticism welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

All is Not Lost

Chapter 1

She couldn't wait to return home. It had been far to long.

Okay, so maybe five days isn't that long, heck she used to go on missions much longer than that on a regular bases when she was still a chunin.

'_Though back then I didn't have someone waiting for me.' _She mused to herself, as she pushed herself to go faster.

"Hinata-sama! Please slow down!"

Hinata sighed and looked back at the four jonin following her. Sighing again, she reluctantly slowed down so her escorts could catch up and surround her in proper protective fashion. She understood that that she shouldn't be on point, but she wanted to be home so badly, and they just weren't moving fast enough.

She was about to take another step forward when suddenly a kunai landed right where she was about to step and exploded. Fortunately Hinata saw it at the last minute and was able to escape the blast. Unfortunately the resulting smoke from the explosion effectively separated her from her escorts.

The sounds of metal clashing came from all around her. She pulled out a kunai and easily deflected five shuriken that were aim at her head.

The smoke finally began to clear, Hinata found herself surrounded by five male shinobis with no distinguishable markings to show their allegiance. Quickly glancing around she notice about a dozen more ninja scattered about fighting the four jonin that accompanied her.

Hinata straightened her shoulders and took a deep breathe. "What do you want?" She demanded, her voice and face void of emotions.

The largest male grinned maniacally before rushing to attack her, completely ignoring her question, the other four following suit. Obviously they had no intention of talking, just as well, she had no intention of listening.

Swiftly she twirled to the left dodging the first man's attack while simultaneously throwing her kunai at the second man's head. She ducked, avoiding a kick aimed at her head from the third. Her left leg swung up, hitting the ninja in the gut and sending him flying a few feet away.

She barely had time to roll away before the fourth's broad sword smashed into the ground just to her right. Throwing a handful of senbon needles at the swordsman, Hinata jumped up at kicked the fifth shinobi's head. He jumped back easily dodging her and began pulling out his shuriken.

She reached for another kunai in her pouch when suddenly she was struck from behind on her right side. She was sent flying a few meters before she twisted her body, landing in a crouch facing her attackers.

She took a moment to assess the situation.

The first ninja who had attached her stood between her third and fifth attacker, his size easily dwarfing the other two, his wide grin still intact. The murderous glint in his eyes proved to Hinata that he was the one who had landed the hit on her.

The fifth was on his left, leisurely twirling two shuriken on his fingers. He was a tall man with stringy dirty blonde hair and a bored expression on his face. The third was a little bit behind the others, his face pale as he tried desperately to hide how much damage Hinata had done to him. She had hit him in the solar plexus.

Good, she hope she ruptured something.

The other two rouges were on the ground. Her aim had been true. One had a kunai embedded in between his eyes, while the other had three senbon piercing through his neck.

Hinata vaguely noticed that she didn't hear any sounds of fighting near by, but wasn't able to dwell on it as the three attacked again.

* * *

This was taking to long.

The ninja she had kicked in the stomach was easily defeated minutes after the second attack began and the blonde fell not long after. But the first, who she mentally dub 'Tank', barely had a scratch on him.

It didn't help that a few for his buddies had joined in, having defeated their own opponents. That meant her escorts were either unconscious or, more likely, dead.

Fortunately the other rouges weren't nearly as strong as Tank but they were forcing Hinata to waste precious energy to kill them.

* * *

Dark clouds covered the sky, effectively blocking the out sun. Rain fell heavily all around.

It was now just her and Tank.

The weather was to her advantage as Tank's heavy form kept sinking into the muddy bank of the river at which they were currently fighting. He was also breathing heavily, finally showing fatigue from the long battle.

But she was in far worst shape.

The prolonged battle had taken its toll. Cuts and bruises littered her skin, she only used enough healing chakra to make sure she didn't bled to death. She could feel a kunai and some other weapons embedded in her back. Even if she could reach them, she didn't have the energy or time to pull them out.

Breathing was painful, evidence of multiple broken ribs. She had long since lost her kunai pouch and was weaponless save for the times she would use the ones thrown at her. Her clothes were in tatters, barely protecting her modesty let alone anything else.

Hinata glanced at the raging river behind her, formulating a plan. She was almost out of chakra. She needed to end this now.

One hit. Just one good hit was all she needed.

Tank slowly stalked closer to her, resembling some demonic wild animal.

She had to time this perfectly. She couldn't allow herself to get anymore injures.

He lunged forward.

She breathed deeply, focusing her remaining chakra for her counter attack.

He swung his right arm straight for her chest.

She dove under him, reaching around for his back.

His right elbow came down hard, crushing her right arm. But to was too late.

A chakra filled hand slapped the base of his spine, immediately paralyzing the lower half of his body.

Hinata watched, in slow motion, as Tank fell face first into the water.

His eyes were wide in disbelief before suddenly narrowing. With a snarl Tank twisted his upper body and grab Hinata's foot.

Terror filled her as she felt herself being dragged into the river. Instinctively she sent the last of her chakra to her foot and kicked Tank in the face, knocking the massive man unconscious and forcing him to release her.

As Tank sank to his death, Hinata fought the currents for much needed air. Breaking the surface she latched onto the nearest solid object, a broken log, and quickly balanced herself on it so she wouldn't fall off the floating wood.

With no more energy left, Hinata fell unconscious, leaving her to the mercy of the strong currents of the swollen river.

* * *

That's the end of the first chapter.

Again I'm completely knew at this so please let me know if any doesn't make sense.

Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto

All is Not Lost

Chapter 2

Pale gray eyes stared blankly at the murky water.

Behind him, his ANBU team searched desperately for any clues to what happened to his cousin.

He knew it was pointless. It was the third time this week they had returned to the spot where her escorts were discovered, hoping for a new lead. Signs of the battle had long since been washed away by the heavy rain.

He let out a tried sigh, grateful for the porcelain mask that hid his emotions.

"Hawk." A monotone voice spoke behind him.

"Beetle." He responded as he continued to stare at the river. The second man hesitated for a moment.

"There's nothing here." That was obvious, they both knew that before they even returned to the scene. But the hope of finding something, anything, that would give them the slightest hint as to Hinata's whereabouts was clung to desperately.

"We should return to Kohona." Beetle stated.

"WHAT!" Roared the third member of the team. "You're just gonna give up!"

"We are already 3 weeks overdue. The Hokage can only spare us for so long. We need to return." Beetle reasoned with his frustrated teammate. "Someone else might have found something. Let's return and collect more information." A hint of sadness was in the man's usual monotonous tone. The wolf masked ninja calmed himself, heaved a defeated sigh and gave a small nod of agreement.

The hawk had listen to the entire exchange in silence. He turned away from the gloomy depths and faced the other two shinobi.

"Let's move out."

* * *

Somber eyes stared blankly at the parchment before him. "Naruto." Sakura called softly to the blonde. Said man tiredly raised his head the pink haired kunoichi.

"I can't do it." He whispered. "I just can't. It's like I'm killing her myself."

Sakura quietly watched the man in front of her. She understood how he felt. None of them wanted to give up. To believe that she was actually gone. But they need to face the facts.

"Naruto," she began, "Our borders are in danger. The number of attacks against us are increasing. We can't keep sending our ninjas on wild goose catches. They are needed here, protecting the village, instead of running around after ghosts." She stopped, knowing she went too far.

Pain stabbed the blonde's heart. He hated not knowing if she was alive. It made him feel so helpless and frustrated to not be able to do anything. He couldn't even go look for her himself. He blamed himself for her disappearance, Sakura could see it in his eyes.

But this needed to be said. They needed to move on. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She would hate it..." She spoke softly, "If something happened to the village because of her. That Kohona was in danger because we were looking for her." She squeezed his shoulder. "We need to move on. She would want us to."

Defeated Naruto nodded his head. He reached over and signed the scroll.

* * *

Eighteen months after her disappearance. Kohona called off the search for Hyuuga Hinata.

Six months later, her village mourned as she was officially declared dead.

* * *

The world of shinobis does not stop for the grieving. There are enemies everywhere just waiting for the opportunity to strike.

* * *

_**Four years later**_

Neji sighed tiredly as he look over his shoulder at his two teammates. Their mission, though not particularly dangerous, had been a long one.

Escorting nobles was always a pain. Not only did they have entourages that drastically slowed everyone down, prolonging the journey, but they were whiney and demanding every moment of everyday.

Halfway to their destination Neji was truly contemplating killing the man himself. Tenten had agreed with the Hyuuga wholeheartedly and was actively fantasying on how they should go about doing it. Lee decided to be the voice of reason (it happens...sometimes) by stating how 'unyouthful' it would be to fail the mission, especially when they were so close to completing it.

Reluctantly they conceded to their bushy-browed teammate, and the three of them agreed not to take on any more escort missions, _ever_.

On the return home, after depositing the noble and his minions at their village, the three nin were attacked by a large group of bandits. The bandits weren't that strong but the large numbers cause it to be a longer battle than the tired shinobi would have like. It also resulted in their current state.

Their clothes were torn and covered in dirt, and they were all now suffering from minor injuries. Not to mention that they were exhausted, even the exuberant Lee looked dead on his feet.

Neji sighed again as he took in their surroundings. They had been traveling in this dense forest for a few hours now. Konoha was still more than a week away. Neji was hoping to shave a few days off by cutting through the woods but was beginning to regret his decision the more they continued forward. The ominous warnings they received about these woods at the last hotel they were at were starting to take root in his exhausted mind.

He rose his hand as a signal that they were stopping for the night. The moment he started taking urban legends as truth, was the moment it was time to stop and sleep.

They started to make camp when they were suddenly attacked by enormous, and angry, grizzly bear.

Due to exhaustion and previous injuries, fighting the large beast was not only fruitless, but was also resulting in now, more serious injures. Deciding to run, they used their last smoke bomb to stun it and make their escape.

They were relieved to see that the bear had no interest in chasing them. But as they relaxed, exhaustion overtook them and the trio collapsed on the forest floor.

As Neji drifted in and out of conscience, he could sense something approach him and his fallen comrades. Then, nothing.

* * *

Please Review


	3. Chapter 3

All is Not Lost

Chapter 3

Thank you all for the reviews and story alerts.

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Neji's eyes shot open. His mind was swimming as he began to focus on the unfamiliar ceiling.

'_What happened?'_

He slowly sat up, his whole body aching, and scanned the room. The room was sparse with only a dresser, a twin sized bed, and a chair that sat by an open window.

Neji had been resting on a small pull out cot. In the bed next to him lay a motionless Lee. Neji jumped up, ignoring his pounding headache, and checked his teammate for a pulse.

Neji relaxed, Lee was alive. His heartbeat was strong and his breathing was neither labored nor weak. All good signs.

But where was Tenten. He began making hand signs.

"Bakugan! Arrgh!" He put a hand to his head instantly deactivating his kekkei genkai, but that split second was more than enough.

In the room next door Neji 'saw' two people. One of whom he recognized as his female teammate, due to her chakra signature.

Hearing footsteps approach, Neji laid down and feigned sleep.

"The long hair should by fine after a couple of hours of rest. The mop-top however is suffering from several fractures and lacerations and will need a couple days to recover enough to travel."

The door swung open.

"Neji! Lee!" Tenten ran over to her teammates and began to shake them awake.

"Tenten! I'm awake! Enough already!" Neji yelled while holding his head, trying to stop the world from spinning.

"Geeze. What I said just went in one ear and out the other, huh?" Neji looked towards the owner of the voice.

It was a young woman, around 25, with long black and white striped hair. She was leaning against the frame of the doorway, arms folded over her chest, her sharp black eyes looked upon her new "house guests" with boredom and disinterest. When she locked eyes with Neji, he noticed a flash of surprised shock in her eyes. She instantly recovered and broke eye contact. She appeared to be contemplating something.

"YOUTH!" Both Neji and the woman's concentration was broken, as the now conscious Lee jumped out of bed, only to collapse again due to pain.

"There's pain killers on the dresser and crutches under the bed." The woman noted dryly. "I'll be in the kitchen down the hall preparing for dinner if you need anything." She turned and walked out of the room.

"Wait! Who are you?" Neji questioned as he stumble off the cot.

The woman made no response as she shut the door behind her.

The three shinobi looked at each other. "Well," Neji began as he settled on the edge of the bed while he carefully examined his freshly bandaged injuries. "Tenten, you seem to have been awake longer than the rest of us. Do you have any information on our current situation?"

"Um, yes. A little." Tenten stated as she helped Lee back onto the bed and went to get the medicine from the dresser. "The woman's name is Cyndra and we are currently in her house. She found us in the forest and brought us here to tend to our wounds. The house is right on the edge of the forest. The nearest village is more than a week away on foot. And at least five days if you use a horse, which she currently doesn't have available. She invited us to stay here for a couple of days as we recover." Her teammates nodded as she continued. "I sensed no ill will from her and she even left all our equipment with us. Nothing appears to have been tampered with." They nodded again as Neji collected and examined their equipment that was set next to the bed.

"Anything else?" Asked the pale eyed man.

"Ah...um...no..." Tenten glanced down, a slight blush on her cheeks. "I got a bit anxious when she told me you two were still unconscious." She admitted a bit ashamed of her unprofessional behavior.

Neji had to fight back a smirk. Things sure had changed so much since they were kids, and yet so many things were still the same.

It was decided early on, when they discovered how easily distracted Lee and their sensai could be, that rules would need to be established in order to keep focus. So when Lee and Tenten decided to start dating new rules were made.

Simply, they could be as lovey dovey as they want in their own time. During training they could still be lovey dovey, just not nauseatingly so (since Neji would be forced to stay in close proximity). But on missions they were nothing but teammates.

It was hard enough to keep one's emotions in check when your friends lives are on the line, let alone your significant other. Cool heads are what keep you and your comrades alive on the battlefield.

Now years later, that rule is still in effect for the now married couple. After all, if Neji couldn't be with his spouse during missions (she was a civilian) then neither could they. It may seem selfish, but it helped keep the tension down and even allowed Tenten and Lee a mental break from each other, something Tenten had secretly mentioned needing every once in a while.

Neji was brought out of his musing by his bowl-haired teammate who was once again on his feet (now with the support of the crutches).

"Worry not my lovely Tenten, we can go to our hostess now and get more information."

He then bounded out the door forgetting the about the pain he was in just moments before.

Tenten smiled fondly at the medicine bottle in her hand.

"Good stuff." She commented softly.

Neji gave a 'hn' in reply. They both knew it was their over exuberant teammate's personality and not the medicine that was the cause for this sudden 'recovery'.

A sudden crash grabbed their attention. Bolting from the room and down the hall, they found their bushy-browed teammate leaning on an over turned dinner table, covered in food.

_Moments earlier._

Cyndra was coming out of the kitchen carrying the last platter of food for dinner.

She looked up in time to see her green-clad 'guest' rush towards her with a large sparkly grin.

'_Isn't he supposed to be injured?'_

A feel of dread washed over her. _'This will not end well.'_

She was right.

As soon a he entered the dinning room, one of the crutches he was using snapped in half. Cyndra watch in horror as the male nin tumbled forward and onto the table covered in food. He tired to push himself back up, causing the table to topple over, spilling the food everywhere.

_Back to present._

Tenten scrambling over to her husband, checking for new injuries.

Neji looked to Cyndra. She stood rigid holding a tray of food. Her eye twitching randomly.

The Hyuuga looked back to his teammates to find Lee apologizing to Tenten as she scolded him for making such a mess. Neji's sight was once again brought back to their two-tone hostess as she walked towards the married couple.

Her strides were quick and her eyes hard. She stopped at Lee's side just as he turned to apologize to her as well. But before he could utter a word, Cyndra swiftly kick the table out from under him. It landed back on all fours, as Lee crashed back to the floor.

"LEE!"

Neji moved protectively next to the couple. Tenten cradled her dazed husband in her lap, she glared up at Cyndra.

"That wasn't really necess-"

Cyndra slammed the large plate onto the table effectively cutting off the kunoichi.

"Let's get a few things straight." She turned and looked upon the shinobi with cold eyes. "I don't like you. Frankly, I don't like people in general. And I especially dislike ninjas." She eyes narrowed on them. "Damn you for using that smoke bomb. And damn my curiosity for needing to check it out." She practically growled the last part to herself before focusing on the three nin again.

"The only reason I didn't leave you three in the woods to die was because that would most likely bring your allies out here searching for your corpses. The last thing I want is a bunch of shinobi roaming my backyard." She motioned to the food on the table.

"Eat what you like. Stay out of the kitchen." She then motioned towards a large door on the other side of the room.

"That leads outside. Use it to get in and out. You may use this room and the rooms you awoke in. That's it." She glared at them. "Don't go roaming my house."

She spun around and disappeared deeper into the house. Leaving three shocked nin in her wake.

* * *

I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, especially the end.

I have chucks of this story already typed up, I just have to figure out how to fill in the blanks.

Let me know if you see any inconsistencies.

Criticism and ideas are welcome.

Thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

All is Not Lost

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. But Cyndra is mine.

* * *

Cyndra made it perfectly clear that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

Sure, she provided them with food and medicine, but other than that she completely ignored the three strangers in her home.

Fortunately for all involved, Cyndra's assessment proved correct. After three short days they were ready to head out.

The three shinobi made their way down the long hallway to the dinning room to pay respects, as insisted by Lee, to their reluctant host before leaving.

They found the irritated woman glaring out the window. It was late afternoon and the sky was slowly being filled with dark directed her glare at the three nin.

"Finally ready to leave, huh? Took you long enough." She grumbled. "You should wait 'til tomorrow, there's going to be a storm." She stated with a sigh.

"We appreciate the thought, but we really need to be going." Tenten politely refused.

"You are not going to make it far in the rain." Cyndra responded with little interest.

"We're ninja." Neji deadpanned. "We'll manage." He and Cyndra had not gotten along since that first day.

The two toned woman let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, storms here are monsoon worthy. You'll be dead in an hour without proper shelter." She began to explain. "If you are thinking of finding a cave, then you'll just be doubly dead. The surrounding forest is home to over three dozens of those Grizzles that you ran into a few days ago, and more than half of them are protective mothers with young cubs." She waited a moment for the information to sink in. "Do you really want to risk facing them _and_ a storm?" She glanced at the shinobi. "Wait 'til morning, then you can take the horses into town."

Neji looked at his teammates. He hated to admit it, but it seems like they have no choice. Lee was still in no condition to face those bears again. Lee and Tenten nodded to him in agreement to Cyndra's plan.

"Fine." He grunted to Cyndra who just tilted her head in acknowledgment.

A puzzled look crossed Tenten's face. "I thought you didn't have any horses." Otherwise they would have ignored their injuries and left earlier.

Cyndra scowled. "My housemates have just returned from the market at the village." She haphazardly explained.

She began walking towards the door. "Come on. Better tell them we have guests." She half growled mostly to herself, but the others heard clearly.

'_Housemates?'_ They all thought as they followed.

* * *

Cyndra walked out of the house, the three ninja following her to a rather large glass building, a greenhouse. Through the open door, they could see a person squatting amongst the plants.

It was a woman with her back to them. Her long dark hair was braided and draped over her shoulder, her figure was concealed by the casual yet elegant long kimono she wore. Her slender fingers diligently picked the various vegetables and herbs that surrounded her.

"Angel! We've got extras for dinner! Get whatever you need to accommodate!" Cyndra called out to the woman who, upon hearing the her housemate's voice, had already slowly begun to stand and face them.

"Visitors! How rare!" She smiled toward them.

'_Impossible.' _Neji stared with wide eyes.

"HINATA!" Tenten and Lee screamed in unison as they tackled the poor woman to the ground, tears running down their cheeks. Neji continued to stared, his mind blank, his mouth agape.

_-Killer intent.-_

Tenten and Lee quickly jump back, barely dodging the kicks aimed at their heads.

"Hands off!"

The three shinobi stared in shock at the sight before them.

Two young boys, around five or six, stood protectively on either side of the woman, who was still sitting on the ground in daze.

Pale white eyes glared intensely at the strangers before them. Their short, choppy, dark blue hair wrestled gently in the light breeze. They stood there proudly, their arms crossed over their chests.

The two slightly turned their bodies toward the woman, eyes never leaving the shinobi. "You okay, Okaa-san?" They asked in unison.

'_Okaa-san?' _The three ninjas could only look on with shock.

"Hai, I'm fine." She assured them as stood and dusted herself off. Her eyes began to scan the three new comers. "Just a little...surprised..." Her voice trailed of as her gaze reach Neji. The two stared at each other for what seemed like eternity.

She broke eye contact, suddenly clutching her head in pain.

"Okaa-san?" The children fully turned to their mother with concern filled eyes. Neji and his two teammates rushed over worriedly yet still cautious of the two youngsters. Eyes glazed over in pain Hinata looked up again at Neji.

"Neji-nii..." She barely manages to say before she passed out and began to fall to the ground. Neji reached out to catch her when, out of nowhere, Cyndra appeared and caught her in his stead.

"What happened?" Tenten questioned, eyes focused on the unconscious woman.

Cyndra looked to the children. "Finish getting the vegetables for dinner, than go get cleaned up."

"But-"

She turned away, completely ignoring their protests, and began to walk toward the house.

"You three come with me." She ordered over her shoulder without so much as a glance back. Neji, Lee, and Tenten quickly followed after her.

After shooting heated glares at the three intruder's retreating forms, the twin boys quickly got to work on the task assigned to them.

* * *

The three shinobi followed Cyndra deep into the house. They went past the kitchen. Past the room in which Neji and Lee had awoken. Deeper still, until they reach, what they perceived to be, Hinata's bedroom. Cyndra entered the room and the three follow close behind.

Neji's eyes slowly examined the room. Violet and lavender bedding. Cream colored carpet. It was almost eerie how much the room resembled the one she had at the Hyuuga compound growing up, even the layout of the furniture was similar.

Eerie and yet, so nostalgic.

Cyndra gently laid the unconscious woman down on the bed.

"Explain." Neji demanded, finally coming out of his musings. He stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed, eyes narrowed on the mysterious two toned woman.

Cyndra narrowed her own eyes as she mimicked Neji's posture and began to stare him down.

"'_Nii'_, huh? So you're her brother?" She asked in a similar tone.

Apparently, she did not like his attitude.

Neji gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes even more towards her obvious defiance.

'_Oh no, she's answering my questions first!'_ He growled to himself.

"Actually, he's her cousin," Tenten answered in Neji's stead. Ignoring his piercing glare, now directed at her, she continued. "But they were pretty close, so she calls him brother."

Cyndra nods her head in understanding. "She has amnesia." She deadpanned simply.

...

"WHAT!"

Cyndra merely stared at them with indifference.

* * *

Yeah, I know. Amnesia, real original. Oh well.

Critism, questions, ideas? Let me know.

Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

All is Not Lost

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

_**Six years ago**_

Thick dark clouds blanketed the sky, giving off the appearance of perpetual night. Rain continued to pour down as it had for the past three weeks.

A lone figure casually walked along the ever swelling river. Her black and white bangs were plastered to her face even with the protection of her cloak.

She stops. Something in the raging river catches her charcoal colored eye.

A large pile of tree limbs and driftwood floated down from upstream. Within the mangled sticks and twigs something metallic shined, piquing her interest.

Using outcropped rocks as stepping stones, the two-toned woman made her way to the center of the river ready to intercept the driftwood.

As it floated closer, Cyndra notice what appeared to be clothing tangled up with the wood.

'_Well, this can't be good.'_

Finally the pile was close enough for Cyndra to tie it to an outcropping and take a closer look. Sure enough, a human body was tangled up among the sticks and twigs.

Cyndra disentangled the body and immediately carried it to the shore, for a closer inspection.

It was a woman, with long dark hair, muddy and ragged from her involuntary trip down river. What was left of her shredded clothing gave no clue as to her identity. Her skin was deathly pale, close to transparency, due to blood loss. She was covered in bruises and cuts that were obviously infected. She had multiple broken bones and a couple shuriken and kunai protruding from her flesh.

Cyndra checked for a pulse. She found one, it was weak, but it was there. After Cyndra removed the different chunks of metal, she gently picked the unconscious women up and speed off toward her home. Immediate medical attention was needed.

'_Yep, defiantly not good.'_

_**Two weeks later**_

Cyndra glared, for the tenth time that day, at the intruder sleeping peacefully in her bed.

The mysterious women's skin had regained most of its color, and many of her bruises and cuts had almost completely healed. She was defiantly getting better, how be it very slowly.

It only infuriated Cyndra more that the blasted women hadn't once woken up. If she had Cyndra would at least have some answers to some her questions. Like, 'Who is she?' and 'What happened?'.

This mysterious women was defiantly attacked by ninjas. If the shuriken and kunai weren't an obvious giveaway, the wounds she sustained sure were.

Also, the woman was a ninja herself. She had many faint scares along her body, no doubt gained from training or missions. The build of her body also support Cyndra's suspicions. This only raised more questions and made Cyndra's life even more complicated.

Cyndra groaned. _'I hate people.'_

She was bought out of her musings by a small moan and movement coming from the bed.

'_Finally! Sleeping beauty has awakened.'_

Cyndra waited impatiently for the woman to open her eyes. Pupil-less lavender orbs stared blankly into Cyndra's charcoal ones.

'_A kekkei genkai! Just great.' _Cyndra growled to herself as she watched the woman slowly sit up. _'Could this women make things anymore complicated?'_

"U-um...Excuse m-me. W-where am I-I?" The woman asked in a small uncertain voice.

"First things first. What's your name? Are there any past medical conditions I should be aware of? Finally, who do I need to contact to get you home?" Cyndra demanded gruffly.

The pale woman's gaze fell to her hands, which laid on her lap. She began to nervously play with her fingers as she shyly glanced back up at Cyndra. Her tired eyes held uncertainty and hope.

"I w-was...um...h-h-hoping you c-could...um...t-tell m-me?" A blush began to creep onto the woman's face as Cyndra continued to stare at her blankly.

It took a few moments for Cyndra to completely comprehend what she said.

'_Somebody out there must hate me.'_

"You can't remember...?" The woman shook her head indicating a 'No'.

"Nothing at all?" Another 'No'.

"Not your name? Your village?" 'No' to both.

"Not even what country your from?" 'No'.

'_Sometimes I loathe my life.'_

"Guess that means you have no clue why you were attacked, huh?" Cyndra mumbled absent mindedly to herself.

"A-a-at-t-t-tacked-d!" The woman stared wide-eyed. A flash of recognition shoot though her eyes. She clutched her head as a massive headache overcame her.

"Oi! You okay?" Cyndra rushed to her side just as the woman lost consciousness. She quickly examined the pale woman and was relieved to find she had just passed out.

'_Is she going to do that every time she starts to remember something?' _Cyndra sighs.

"Troublesome woman." Said woman stirred slightly but didn't awaken.

'_Guess I got a new housemate.'_

_**Three weeks later**_

Progress was slow. The woman, dubbed Angel by Cyndra, was now able to move around the house with the aide of a crutch. Her mobility was still restricted thanks to a sprained knee and fractured ankle in her left leg and a broken right arm. Her main problem though was her chakra level, or rather her lack there of.

No matter how much rest she got her chakra just wasn't returning. The reason for this was discovered a few days after she had first awoken.

Angel was pregnant, about 13 weeks along now, and her body was instinctively sending all the chakra it could muster to the infant in order to protect it. An instinct most likely triggered by their treacherous river ride.

Though that instinct was probably the only reason the two of them survived the whole ordeal, it was no longer necessary. Unfortunately they didn't really have a way to stop it.

Angel didn't have a clue what chakra was, let alone how to control it and Cyndra didn't want to risk trying herself. It was a delicate situation. One false move could result in permanent damage or death to either mother or child. The risk was to great.

They decided to leave it be. Doing so would be more annoying than anything else, since it meant Angel's wounds would heal slower and she would be rather lethargic until the child was born. That's where the real danger was, the childbirth.

Due to Angel's lack of energy, a C-section would probably be necessary. Cyndra would keep a close eye on the mother for any possible complications, but she wasn't really worried. No way. If there was one thing she knew about this mother and her child, it was that both of them were survivors.

_**One Month Later**_

Angel had a few interesting quirks. Just a few things she seemed to due without thinking. Like some sort of muscle memory or mental autopilot.

For example, whenever she cooked (and man, could she ever) she always made enough for at least five people. Five very hungry people. Which was just fine since Cyndra ate a lot and Angel was eating for two, I mean three. Yep, she was having twins.

'_This girl just loves to make my life complicated.'_ Was Cyndra's initial response, though truthfully, Cyndra had grown quite attached to Angel in the last few weeks and was actually looking forward to the little runts' (one of Cyndra's favorite terms of endearment towards the children) birth.

Also Angel liked to garden. She was well versed in medicinal herbs and could make a variety of potent healing balms, which Cyndra looked forward to selling at the market place once Angel was healthy either to go.

Another fun quirk of the mother-to-be, was her habit of waking up at six in the morning to train. This training involved some target practice with kunai and shuriken, going through the motions **kata** of a very interesting style of taijustu, and hitting the base of a tree with her palms over, and over, and over, and over. Cyndra learned very quickly that, if left on her own, Angel will train until she passes out. Not so good for her or the babies.

'_She must of had an interesting lifestyle.'_

Finally, Angel liked the roof. Most nights she would sit up there for hours just gazing at the stars and moon. Nights when there was a full moon she would stay up all night, she just sat there staring at the moon with a sense of loneliness and waiting. She could never be coaxed down on nights like those, no matter how late or cold it was, Cyndra would just wait until dawn, when Angel would finally fall asleep, and carry the petite woman to her room.

* * *

_**Present**_

The three shinobi continued to stare at Cyndra, shock and confusion etched on their faces. She sighed. _'Annoying people.'_

"I found her floating in the river unconscious. When she woke up she couldn't remember anything. Not only that, but every time she started to, this happened." She gestured to the sleeping woman. She glanced at them in boredom as they absorbed the new information. The silence was broken by a soft moan coming from the subject of their musing.

"HINATA!" Lee and Tenten yelled in unison as they began to advance to glomp the poor woman, again. A low growl from Cyndra stopped them dead in their tracks.

"It's okay Cyndra." Hinata's small voice chirped out. "They're friends." The occupants of the rooms look at the pale woman.

"You remember us?" Tenten smiled hopefully.

A sad look crossed Hinata's face.

"Sorry. I still don't remember you or my past...but I feel safe around you, I have trust in you." Hinata gave a small smile to the bun haired kunochi, who returned it with vigor.

Lee began shouting some random things about 'youth', Cyndra seemed bored with the whole conversation, and Neji gazed at Hinata with a mix of astonishment and sadness.

Hinata was alive. After all this time, there she was right in front of him. Interacting with his teammates like she always had.

But it's not the same. She doesn't remember. Anything.

"Neji-nii..." All heads snap to the pale eyed beauty. "I remember...no, I recognize you." A light blush graced her cheeks as she looked her cousin in the eye.

"You are one of my important people. Our relationship is complex but strong. You are someone who would give their life for me, and I would do the same for you."

Her gaze dropped to her lap, she began to twiddle her fingers as her blush darkened. She 'eeped' when she was suddenly held in a strong embrace.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Hinata-sama." Relief was evident in Neji's shaky voice. Hinata smiled.

"I'm glad to see you too, Neji-nii." He moved back to look directly at her face, but still had his hands loosely around her shoulders.

"But stop with the 'sama', okay?" She spoke with feign annoyance.

"Hai, hai." Neji responded with a small smile.

Suddenly he was yanked backwards, landing unceremoniously on the floor. He ignored the muffled laughs of his teammates, as he glared up at Cyndra, the perpetrator, who in turn glared back.

"Cyndra..." Hinata tried to diffuse the situation before it escalated.

"Just because you trust them doesn't mean I have to, nor does it mean I'll let them near you." The two-toned woman stated blankly. "They are far to... touchy-feely for my tastes." She glanced at Lee and Tenten, who smiled sheepishly at her.

"Oh, Cyndra." Hinata signed.

"Besides, if I didn't do something, the runts would have."

A small rustle was heard outside the window. The three shinobi looked towards said window while Hinata just giggled. Neji activated his Bakugan and saw the twins rushing back to the garden, with impressive speed for 5 year olds, he noted.

Hinata stood up. "I'd better go start dinner."

Cyndra nodded in agreement as she followed the indigo haired woman out the room. The three were about to speak when Cyndra cut them off.

"I will show you back to your rooms so you can get ready also. No doubt you have much to discuss amongst yourselves, about recent events."

Cyndra turned and walked off without bothering to check if they were following.

They were, reluctantly. She was right, they had much to talk about.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

All is Not Lost

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

About the twins father, I'm not telling...yet. Feel free to guess, I'm curious about who you think it will be.

Enjoy.

* * *

Dinner was...interesting.

The twins continued to glare at the newcomers, almost successfully hiding their curiosity about the three shinobi, especially the long haired male with eyes so much like their own.

Hinata, ignoring the tension in the room, did her normal routine of bringing plate after plate of assorted dishes. It was an overwhelming amount of food for poor Tenten who was trying her best to help the pale-eyed woman serve the meal.

Lee was rambling something about Hinata's 'youthful cooking skills', while Neji, still looking slightly bewildered, was observing everything calmly.

Cyndra ignored the others, focusing on devouring the mounds of food made by Hinata, much to Tenten's amazement.

"I think it's time we discuss what you are planning to do now." Cyndra abruptly stated once dinner was over and the table was cleared.

She sat at the table, her arms crossed staring blankly at the three shinobi across the table from her. To her right, Hinata let out a sigh and shook her head at Cyndra's bluntness, but waited for the conversation to start nonetheless. The twins sat at either side of the two women, their postures mimicking Cyndra's though their eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

Neji sat directly across from Cyndra, his narrowed eyes bored into hers as he impatiently awaited her accusation. His teammates sat next to him on either side.

Tenten nervously watched her stoic teammate. They hadn't figured out a solution earlier and she didn't know if letting her headstrong friend argue with someone equally stubborn without a plan was a good idea.

Silence filled the room as Cyndra and Neji continued their glaring match.

"The three of us will be leaving in the morning as planned." Lee stated firmly, much to the surprise of his teammates.

"Oh?" Cyndra asked calmly, a brow slightly raised.

"Yes." Lee continued while his fellow ninja sat in shock. "For now we will be leaving Hinata in your care." Lee lowers his head to Cyndra. "Please continue to watch over her."

A small smile appeared on the two-toned woman's face, obliviously pleased with this answer.

"Of course." She got up and left the dining room.

"Goodnight." Hinata smiled softly at them, as she and the twins followed Cyndra out.

* * *

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" Lee's two dumbstruck companions shouted, finally regaining their voices.

Lee had somehow managed to get them back into their room before his teammates had come back to their senses.

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER LEAVING HINATA HERE?" Tenten shrieked while grabbing her husband's collar and shaking him violently. Neji glared at the other male, thinking of the most painful way of slowly killing his teammate while still making it look like an accident.

"We will return and tell the Hokage the situation and ask to return, with a medic who may be able to help restore Hinata's memory."

Lee managed to choke out as he freed himself from his wife's vice grip. He teammates looked back at him in amazement at his sound logic, and the fact that he hadn't mentioned 'youth' in some way for the past 15 minutes. Lee continued as they pondered his suggestion.

"We can't take her in her current condition, it would basically be kidnapping. Not that Cyndra would even consider letting us take her, she made that perfectly clear. Then there's the twins. They're a problem in themselves."

A smiled spread across Tenten's face as she happily tackled her husband.

"Great idea Lee! What do you think Neji?"

The couple looked at the stoic ninja. He continued to ponder for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"I have some conditions then."

The three shinobi whipped their heads towards the direction of the voice, as they instinctively went into defensive positions at the sudden awareness of a fourth person's presence.

Cyndra sat undeterred on the window sill, her body language completely relaxed as she gazed, slightly amused, at the battle ready shinobi before her.

'_How long has she been there? Why didn't we sense her presence?'_

Those thoughts, and similar others, shot though the three nins minds, but were quickly pushed aside as they registered Cyndra's comment.

"Conditions?" Neji asked calmly, finally regaining his composer, as he relaxed from his defensive stance. His teammates followed suit but the three remained on guard nonetheless.

Cyndra casually tossed a scroll to Neji. He eyed it suspiciously.

"What's this?"

"A contract." Cyndra stated simply.

"Contract?" Tenten repeated, taking the scroll from Neji and tentatively opening it, her husband peering over her shoulder to read it.

Cyndra nods her head. "Giving you permission to inform your Hokage of Angel's current condition." She spoke in a business like tone.

"Permission?" Neji half snarled.

Ignoring him, she continued. "This is to be treated as classified information. You aren't to reveal any information to anyone other than your Hokage. Also, our location is not to be disclosed, not even remotely referred to on a map. Those are the main terms of the agreement." She finished emotionlessly.

"Agreement? Are you insane? Who do you think you are to make such demands?" Neji snarled, snatching the scroll from Tenten's and shoving it in Cyndra's face.

Slapping away his hand, Cyndra glared at him. "I have been protecting her for the past six years, like hell I'm gonna risk her safety just because you appear to be from the same clan." She paused, taking a calming breath, before continuing in a cold voice. "I know enough about _clans_ to know that they will take _any_ means necessary to keep their secrets safe and their bloodlines 'clean'." Cyndra growled at the Hyuuga.

Inwardly, he flinched. He could not deny her claims. The mark on his forehead was a testimony to the truth of her words.

Sensing Neji's inner turmoil, Lee decided to break the silence and, hopefully, relieve the tension. "What made you believe Hinata was in need of such careful guardianship?"

Cyndra sighed heavily. She hated having to talk so much.

"After treating her wounds and examining her body I could determine two things. One, she was a well trained ninja and two, the injuries were caused by other ninjas. These findings resulted in some questions.

"_Was she attacked by enemy shinobi? Was she the attacker? Was she on a mission? Was she the target or just an obstacle? Were her enemies dead? Were they coming after her?_

"Then I saw herkekkei genkai and even more questions come to mind.

"_Were they after her eyes? Did they want her dead or alive?_

"When I discovered the pregnancy, possibilities I hadn't considered came into play.

"_Did she know about the child? Did they? Was that what they were after? Did they wish to kill it or did they want to take it for their own purposes? Was the enemy from another village or her own? Was she running to keep the child or to get rid of it? Did she want the child or was she forced to bared it like a brood mare?_

"There were far too many possibilities, and now their was another life involved, so I decided the best choice was to watch over her myself until she recovered her memories."

Three shinobi said nothing as the information soaked in.

"I see..." Tenten muttered quietly. Her husband nodded in understanding while Neji simply bowed his head in defeat.

"So, you agree with my terms."

It wasn't a question. If they didn't agree to the terms she set, they would never see Hinata again. She would make sure of it.

Her body language. Her tone of voice. The pervious spoken words. All of it told them that this was a threat. A promise.

After all, Cyndra had kept Hinata hidden for years. The search six years ago had been thorough and extensive, lasting almost two years, and yet not a trace of her had been found. Also, in all this time not even the slightest rumor of her surviving the attack and living somewhere, ever circulated anywhere. Now that Cyndra knew someone was looking for her. She would move them somewhere else, and it would be like they never existed. It was no bluff.

"Yes. We agree." Neji stated through gritted teeth.

Cyndra nodded her head in acknowledgement. Picking up the discarded scroll she handed it to Tenten along with a pen. "Then sign." She stated bluntly.

Silently the three shinobi signed the scroll, sealing it with blood (Cyndra's order). With the last signature the scroll disappeared with a puff, and a different scroll appeared in its place. They looked on it with confusion. "For your Hokage." She supplied before once again sitting down on the window sill.

"Now," Cyndra began, "about the rest of the conditions..."

Neji's eye twiched.

* * *

Opinions. Ideas. Let me know.

Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

All is Not Lost

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

* * *

Blue eyes regarded the three shinobi before him.

They had just finished giving him their report on the mission and were standing in front of him waiting impatiently. Which was odd, since he had already dismissed them.

They were obviously tired and should be eager to go home to their families. So why were they still here?

Why weren't they talking? If something needed to be said, say it.

He reread the report. Maybe he missed something.

Nothing.

He looked back up at the former Team Gai with an eyebrow raised. They stood like statues, giving nothing anyway.

He skimmed the report one last time before handing it over to his secretary, who took it then left to file the out going paperwork. The door clicked shut.

The frustrated blue-eyed man was about to demand what they wanted, when Neji cut him off.

"We need to talk about something confidential that happened after the mission."

Blonde eyebrows shot up. _'What could be so confidential that _Ino, _one of_ _rookie nine, couldn't hear?' _

Naruto tried to hide his curiosity and the childlike excitement that comes from hearing a secret. Neji handed him a scroll.

"Sign it." He stated grumpily.

Naruto eyed the parchment then back to them.

Neji looked irritated (well, more than usual), Tenten look apologetic yet hopeful, and Lee was bouncing with excitement.

'_What the heck happened!' _

Neji sighed. "Just sign it." He practically begged.

Surprised by the his sudden change of tone, Naruto picked up the scroll and began to read it. Confusion covered his face as he looked up at his friends. Their eyes implored him to not ask questions. He complied. Biting his thumb, Naruto signed the scroll with a blood seal.

The writing began to glow a bright, angry red before returning to normal. Naruto stared blankly at the scroll before looking at the others questionably. By the looks on their faces, they obviously weren't expecting it to due that either.

Neji recovered first, shaking his head as if to dismiss that that had happened and forced a slight cough to regain his teammates attention.

He nodded to Tenten, who swiftly moved to the door, locking it and placing seals on it to make the room soundproof. Naruto looked at them expectantly.

Only after she returned to her place place beside her husband, did Neji start.

"We were returning to the village after completing our mission, when we were forced, due to exhaustion and injuries, to take refuge in the home of a civilian who-"

"HINATA'S ALIVE!" Lee shouted, cutting off Neji's long winded explanation.

The Hyuuga glared at his bowl headed friend who smiled sheepishly at him. Silence permeated the room. The three ninja looked at their Hokage.

He sat there frozen, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Naurto began opening and closing his like a fish. Several minutes passed, before the blonde Hokage began rambling a bunch of _'Wha? How? Where? Impossible! Where? No way! Really?'_.

"It's true, Naruto." Neji spoke firmly to the rambling man. "We saw her. Spoke to her. She is alive."

Naruto sat in shock for a moment. Suddenly his face broke into a huge cheshire grin. Tears began to weld in his eyes.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" He exclaimed jumping out of his seat. "How? What happened? What has she been doing all this time? Oh, never mind that. Where is she? I have to tell-"

"No, Naruto." Neji stern voice cut off the blonde.

"Uh?"

"You can't tell anyone." He clarified.

"WHY NOT!" Naruto shouted frustrated.

"This needs to stay confidential. That's why you had to sign the scroll."

"Surely I can tell-"

"No one, Naruto."

"WHY NOT!" He snarled.

"It's complicated." Tenten spoke for the first time since the mission report.

The three of them had agreed before hand that Neji would be the one to explain. It was something he had to do himself. Tenten and Lee were there for moral support.

The blue-eyed man sat down heavily in his chair. He put his elbows on the desk and propped his chin on his intertwined fingers. His eyes narrowed on the three shinobi.

"Then explain." He demanded with authority, all pervious excitement long gone. It was almost scary how serious Naruto was. It was one of the major changes in him since Hinata's 'death'.

"Six years ago, Hinata-sama was found floating unconscious in a river. Having no way of identify her land/village of origin, the woman who rescued her took her own home to recover. Upon regaining conscious, it was discovered that Hinata-sama had no memory of who she was or where she came from. She has been living with her rescuer ever since."

"Amnesia." Naruto whispered a little dumbfounded. He narrowed his eyes and gave them a hard look. "And _why_ didn't you bring her back?" He demanded.

Neji sighed a little irritated. "Her _guardian,_" he growled, "wouldn't allow it."

Okay, now Naruto was confused.

He looked to Tenten and Lee for answers, seeing how Neji was currently having a glaring contest with his desk.

"The woman who found her." Tenten clarified.

"Yes! She has been youthfully watching over Hinata as she recovers, and valiantly protects her!"

"Protects her?" The blonde straightened up, a worried look on his face. "Is she in danger?"

"No. She is perfectly fine." Tenten soothed calmly. "Her guardian just realized she had a kekkei genkai and knew she would be an easy target in her current state, so she took precautions to keep her safe."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He furrowed has brows. Why weren't they saying her name?

"So..." The three shinobi gave their Hokage their full attention. "Who saved Hinata?"

Lee and Tenten exchanged worried glances.

"A recluse who lives far away from any villages." Neji deadpanned.

Naruto growled, annoyed that he wasn't getting a straight answer from his shinobi. "What's her name?" He demanded.

"We can't say." Neji conceded with a sigh.

"It's part of the contract." Tenten added seeing Naruto's frustrated face.

"What can you tell me then!" He shouted in exasperation.

"Hinata-sama is alive and, aside from the memory loss, in perfect health. We were given _permission_," he growled the word, "to bring a small team to their location."

"Oh?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, thinking.

"We recommend sending either Shino or Kiba since they may help jog her memory." Tenten supplied.

"And Sakura for her youthful medical skills!" Lee declared.

"As well as Shikamura." Neji stated plainly.

"Shikamura?" Naruto questioned.

"We need someone to out smart that woman." The long-haired male growled.

Naruto nodded to the three shinobi in front of him. "Fine. Shino is away on a mission, but the others are available. I will inform them abo-"

"You can't tell them about Hinata." Tenten interrupted. "You can't tell them much of anything really..." She trailed off sheepishly.

"What can I tell them?" He asked exasperated.

"Just inform them that they are needed for a delicate situation and that they will be given more information upon reaching their destination." Neji deadpanned

"Oh, anything else?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"I will be escorting them." The Hyuuga demanded.

Sky blue eyes clashed with pale gray.

The sixth Hokage sighed. He knew arguing with the stubborn Bakugan wielder would be pointless, especially since it concerns Hinata.

Naruto pulled out a blank scroll and started to write on it.

"I'll summon you for the mission in a couple of days," He raised his hand to silence Neji's objections.

"You said so yourself, Hinata-chan is safe at the moment. Go home and rest."

Seeing the Hyuuga's reluctance to wait, the blonde male added with a slight smile.

"I'm sure Hinako misses her father."

With that Neji conceded. After all, he missed his daughter and wife as well.

* * *

Sorry this one took longer to come out. Having issues filling some gaps.

Ideas are welcome.

Thanks to all who reviewed and put this story on your alerts and favorites.

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

All is Not Lost

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

Thanks y'all for the awesome reviews. They made me really happy and encouraged me to update quicker.

A slightly longer chapter.

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**One week later**

Neji stood at the village gate waiting for his new teammates to arrive so they could go and get Hinata.

Shikamaru was surprisingly first. True he has gained more initiative when it comes to missions, but he was still the same lazy genius of the rookie nine.

Maybe the secrecy of the mission intrigued him. Or, more likely, he is trying to escape his pregnant wife for a while.

The ever eager Kiba and his faithful companion arrived next, followed shortly by Sakura.

Neji nodded to the three (four).

"Did all of you sign the contract." Sakura and Shikamaru nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, but what is up with all this secrecy? We're shinobi. We know how to keep a secret. So what's going on?" Kiba complained.

"You will understand when we reach our destination." Neji responsed.

"So, you know what's going on Neji?" Sakura enquired.

"Hn." He turned and began walking out the gate.

"What the hell was that!" Kiba exclaimed.

"That's just how Neji is." Sakura commented.

"I know, but..." Kiba growled to himself. Akamaru whined mirroring his master's frustration.

"Let's just go and get this troublesome mission over with." Shikamaru spoke up, as walked past the two (plus dog) to catch up with Neji.

Truthfully, he was also slightly frustrated with this mission. During the briefing Naruto had been extremely vague, which didn't sit well with the lazy genius.

It was unusual for the blonde Hokage it be so...obscure. Especially with any of them. The rookie nine, plus the former Team Gai, had been through too much together for there to be any doubts in loyalty.

Something was going on, and Neji knew what.

Sakura nodded as Kiba let out a sigh.

"Fine. Come on buddy." Kiba motioned to his companion as they moved to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

"Why can't we just go _through_ the forest?" Kiba asked for the 12th time in the last hour.

"I told you, it's too dangerous." Neji stated, again. "And didn't you say Akamaru agrees with me?"

Kiba glanced at the canine.

It was true, Akamaru warned them of danger as soon as they got within eye shot of the dense woods. Even now, the large hound was giving the forest a wide berth. He would often give the tree line a wary look and whimper in anxiety.

"I'm disappointed that you would ignore both of our warnings." The Hyuuga stated.

Kiba growled to himself. He knows Neji is right, but this whole mission was getting to him. He just wanted to get to their destination so they can get this whole thing over with. He mumbled an apology to his teammates and patted Akamaru on the head.

"How much farther anyway?" Sakura asked, slightly whiny due to fatigue.

"We're close." Neji stated.

"Really?" She perked up, and looked around them.

Trees. Trees. Grass. A few rocks. Oh, and trees.

She frowned. "Really?" She stated again, a bit skeptical.

"We left that tiny town over four days ago." Kiba grumbled.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. There are no trails or paths. No signs that any people pass through here." Sakura continued the thoughts of the disgruntled tracker. "I find it difficult to believe that anybody actually lives out there."

Neji almost sighed. "That's the point."

Shikamaru had been silently observing as he followed the rest of the group. Sakura and Kiba's observations were correct. There had been no trace of human civilization for days, and with the apparent dangerous forest right beside them, it seemed highly unlikely, and suicidal, for anyone to live out here.

'_That's the point.'_ Neji words rang through his ears.

Naruto had told them they were assisting some reclusive hermit or something, but perhaps it was a rogue. Some high level criminal.

No. Naruto wouldn't let them go into such a situation blind.

Shikamaru tilted his head up to look at the clouds as he continued his musings.

He recalled Naruto's countenance during the mission briefing. Though he had kept a straight face, Shikamaru saw flashes of emotion in the blonde's eyes.

Excitement. Anxiety. Happiness. Uncertainty.

Shikamaru knew Kiba and Sakura had seen it too but, as shinobi they will follow their leader's orders obediently. They will get their answers soon, and if not...they will drag the truth from the blue-eyed Hokage when they returned.

Neji was another factor.

What did he have to do with all this?

Shikamaru knew he had just returned, over due, from a mission with Lee and Tenten. Did that have something to do with it? Does this have to do with why they were late?

His musing were cut short as they turned a bend and he notice Neji tense then slightly relax. Before them was a rather large house, considering how well it was hidden.

Suddenly Akamaru's ears perked. He lifted his head and began to sniff the air. His tail started to wag madly as he let out an excited bark.

"What is it boy?" Kiba asked confused.

His only answer was Akamaru bounding off towards the house.

"Oi!" Kiba shouted, running after the white hound and Neji, who had started running to the house when Akamaru did. Sakura and Shikamaru followed quickly.

The large canine turned a corner, disappearing behind the house. A startled 'eep' was heard. The shinobi rounded the corner to see that Akamaru had a woman pinned to the ground, and was happily 'attacking' her with doggy kisses.

"Oi! Akamaru! Get off her!" Kiba pulled the large hound away, Sakura walked over and kelt down next to the woman who was trying to wipe the dog drool off her face.

"Are you okay? We are _so_ sorry. He is usually better behaved." The pink haired medic shot a glare at the duo. Akamaru was still bouncing around happily, while Kiba looked completely confused.

"It's alright." A soft voice chimed in, making both shinobi freeze. Akamaru gave another excited bark as the two turned to face the, now standing, woman.

"Hinata?" Kiba blinked and shook his head. Slowly he approached the dark haired woman, who was staring at the confused shinobi with distinct pale eyes.

He was aware Neji and Shikamaru were somewhere behind him, along with Akamaru, but hardly cared.

He passed the still kneeling Sakura, stopping less than a foot from the raven haired woman. She began to fidget, uncomfortable with him evading her personal space.

He knew that expression, those movements.

"Umm...ano..." That voice.

He took a deep breath though his nose. Her unforgettable scent filled his senses.

'_It's her.'_

He reached out, grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her in for a tight embrace, ignoring her soft 'eep' at the sudden contact.

'_She's alive.'_

Sakura, finally recovering from her shock, stood with a hand over her mouth and tears welling up in her eyes. "Hinata." She whispered through her fingers.

Shikamaru stood, eyes wide and mouth gapping open. His mind buzzed with the sight before him.

Neji observed the situation with a sense of deja vu. Frankly he would have found the expressions on his fellow shinobi amusing, if it weren't for the fact that that _mutt _wasn't still holding his cousin.

Neji took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew the problem would be solved shortly.

'_Speak of the devil.'_

The sound of slicing air was Kiba's only warning to dodge. Never had he been more grateful that he followed his instincts.

No sooner than he moved, a foot swung into the space his head had been occupying. He jumped back, landing in an attack position next to Akamaru. Said hound stood on guard, fur and hackles raised, growling at the new presence.

Sakura moved into a defensive position behind the two, also wary of the possible threat.

Shikmaru analyzed everything as he stood in a rather relaxed position. He had noticed Neji's lack of reaction to the newcomer and deemed them relatively safe.

"Are all the ninja from your village so...touchy feely?" The two-tone woman asked while staring blankly at Kiba.

She glanced at the rest of the group, her gaze stopping on Sakura, and blinked.

"Are you..._crying_?" She asked incredulously.

Sure enough a few of the tears the medic had struggled to hold back had leaked out. Sakura hurriedly wiped her face, embarrassed at the slip.

"The quality for kunoichi sure has dropped over the years." She stated bluntly, causing the pinkette to glare.

"Cyndra, you promised you would be nice to them when they returned." Hinata spoke softly to the woman who stood protectively in front of her.

"The only one who _'returned' _is the long hair," she gave a nod of recognition to Neji, who returned it reluctantly. "Pinky and the others are far game."

Hinata just smiled at her and shook her head.

"Hinata-sama." Neji stepped towards his cousin. "It is good to see you again."

She smiled at him. "You to Nii-san." She then looked questionably at the shinobi behind him.

"These are more ninja from Kohona," He gestured to the nin behind him, who were giving him confused looks at the sudden introduction. Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba and his campion, Akamaru. All three graduated the academy along with Hinata-sama, and Kiba And Akamaru were part of her genin team along with Aburame Shino and their sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai."

"Oi! What's with the long winded explanation? We know who we are!"

"Kiba...-kun...?" His ears perked up at the familiar voice saying his name.

"Yah, Hinata?" He looked over to see her white eyes staring at him with a strange look of concentration and confusion.

"You know the dog boy?" The zebra striped woman asked boredly. Hinata shook her head, which confused the Kohona nin even more.

"He's familiar. Like Nii-san." She respond slowly. Suddenly she winced in pain and place a hand on her head. She began to sway a little.

"Hinata!" Sakura and Kiba rushed forward, only to be blocked by Neji.

"What the hell, man!" Kiba growled looking around the male Hyuuga in order to see the female.

Said female was being held up by the two tone woman, who was sending them a warning glare.

"Are you all right?" She ask Hinata, who nodded in response. "Good, it seems like the reactions are getting milder. Can you recall anything else?"

"A little…"

"What's going on here!" Kiba yelled in exasperation.

"Amnesia?" Sakura whispered. She looked to Neji who nodded in confirmation to her hypothesis.

"Huh?" Kiba was throughly confused.

"The injures Hinata-sama sustained from the attacked six years ago," a growl came from both Akamaru and Kiba. "Caused her to loose her memory." Neji informed.

"WHAT!" Sakura rushed up to the female Hyuuga, hands glowing green with chakra. The medic was stopped abruptly by a swift blow to the chest. She stumbled backwards and fell into Kiba's arms. The Inuzuka was growling fiercely at the offender, Cyndra, who merely lowered her leg and continued to stand protectively in front of Hinata.

"What the hell man!" Kiba snarled.

"I didn't give you permission to approach, let alone to touch her." She deadpanned.

"PERMISSION!" Kiba yelled.

"Our apologizes." Neji stepped forward. "Sakura is our medic. We brought her in order to assess Hinata-sama's condition." Cyndra stared at Sakura blankly.

"Is that so…" She said condescendingly. Hinata nudged her arm.

"It's okay." Sharp onyx stared at gentle pearl.

"Fine." Cyndra relented with a sigh as Hinata smiled at her gratefully.

"Thank you." Neji slightly bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"Yeah," Kiba snarled sarcastically. "Thanks for letting us help our friend."

Suddenly Akamaru turned to the forest, growling, with his fur standing on end.

"What's the matter boy?" Kiba knelt by his loyal companion, eyeing the dense woods. Sounds of leaves rustling and branches snapping along with a low growl began to emanate from the trees.

The four shinobi, and dog, crouched into attacked position, preparing for any danger. The noise stopped.

The ninja tensed in the eerie silence.

Suddenly a large grizzly bear, almost twice the size of the one that attacked Neji's team almost three weeks back, emerged from the forest.

"What the!" Kiba moved to attack but stopped as Cyndra placed herself between them and the bear.

"OI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" He yelled at her back. She ignored him.

"Where have you been?" She demanded. The bear gave a low growl, that sounded more like a whine, and laid down before the woman.

The shinobi stood with mouth's agape.

"Well that explains a lot." Neji mumbled to himself.

"Aww. We're not that late." Two voices called in unison from on top of the grizzly's head. The ninja looked up to see two young boys on top of the large creature.

They had choppy dark hair and snowy white eyes. Their mouths, hands, and the front of their shirts were covered in red, blue, and black stains.

"We brought berries!" They shouted in unison while showing off their filled baskets with pride.

"Hn." Cyndra nodded. "Go wash up. We have guests."

Finally noticing the shinobi, the twins sent them a mild glare. They then blinked, a look of recognition crossed their features.

"It's the long hair Oijsan!" They shouted as they scrambled off the bear and ran to greet Neji.

Surprised, but highly pleased with the warm welcome, Neji smiled at the two boys.

The other three shinobi stared in shocked at the scene. (They have been doing that a lot, huh?)

Snapping himself out of it, Kiba proceeded to yell, "WHO THE HELL ARE THEY!"

The twins turned to glare at him.

"Who the hell are you?" They snapped back.

"They are Hinata-sama's sons." Neji stated calmly.

"WHAT!" Kiba shouted.

"Enough." She didn't shout. She didn't yell. She didn't raise voice hear voice at all. But Cyndra was heard by all. A chill went down their spine, effectively shutting up the noisy nin.

Agitated Cyndra rubbed in-between her eyes. Her stomach growled causing the shinobi to sweat drop and the twins to cringe.

Hinata smiled knowingly. "We haven't had lunch yet." She supplied.

"You two," Cyndra motioned to the twins, who flinched, "Go clean up." They nodded eagerly and quickly ran off. She turned to Hinata, "Let's go eat." She walked off towards the house as Hinata motioned to the others to follow.

* * *

Hope you liked it. I will try to get the next chapter out today as well.

Please review.

Thanks again for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

All is Not Lost

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

Sorry I couldn't get this chapter out yesterday like I hoped. Work and stuff.

Thanks for all the encouraging reviews.

Enjoy.

* * *

How long had it been since he had Hinata's homemade cooking? Far too long, Kiba decided as he shoveled in his third helping.

He was a lot calmer now. Neji had explain everything while Hinata finished cooking, so he was now free to enjoy the female Hyuuga's presence.

Hinata was alive. She had no memory, but she was alive.

She had kids. Twins. He was still having trouble processing that, even if the living proof was sitting right in front of him. The twins were rather quiet, content with watching the new shinobi curiously while they ate.

He glanced at Hinata's savior, Cyndra. He knew very little about the two tone woman who help his sister-like friend.

First off, she was extremely over protective of Hinata and her sons. Secondly, Neji wasn't exaggerating when he said that she hated people. When she wasn't completely ignoring their presence, she was glaring daggers at them for being too friendly with Hinata. Oh, and lastly, she was cranky when not fed. Said woman was currently on her 5th helping and was showing no signs of stopping.

"When do you plan to examine Angel?" Cyndra suddenly addressed Sakura. The pink haired medic almost chocked on her drink at the sudden attention, but recovered quickly.

"I would like to begin as soon as pos-"

"After lunch then." Cyndra cut her off with a note of finality.

Sakura was becoming rather irritated with the stripped woman's attitude. Kiba was in the same mind set as the medic. Shikmaru observed quietly from his end of the table. Neji was finding the whole situation slightly amusing. Finally someone else had to deal with Cyndra's snarky attitude (She had been rather civil towards Tenten and Lee).

"Long hair." The twins called in unison. Neji twitched while Cyndra smirked.

"Boys." Their mother reprimanded lightly.

"Hyuuga-san." They corrected.

"Hn." He acknowledged, though that sounded odd to him as well.

"Since mother will be busy with Forehead," Kiba choked out a laugh, Sakura glanced menacingly at the twins. Hinata simply sighed and shook her head, while Cyndra, Neji and even Shikamaru smirked in amusement. "Will you train with us?" The twins asked ignoring the fuming pinkette.

"Training…?" Neji shoot Hinata a questioning look. She smiled and gave him an encouraging nod. "Hn." He nodded to the twins, who smiled in return before continuing to eat.

* * *

Shikmaru was impressed. The twins were well versed in their basic taijustu and were well balanced in both defense and offense. Their speed was already at genin level, which was really impressive for five years olds, especially since they weren't using charka.

They had some pretty decent combos as well. They would use a tag team strategy to try a push Neji back, and it worked once or twice. They were hard workers, he noted. Shikamaru was pretty sure they were wearing weights under their clothing.

The Kohona nin had been surprised when the two boys warmed up by doing the kata (I believe that's what it's called) movements of the Hyuuga style. When Neji questioned them about it, they said that their mother would do it every morning. A look of nostalgia had crossed Neji face.

So, she had been doing it due to muscle memory. Shikmaru mused. That was a good sign.

* * *

Sakura remained quiet as she finished her examination. Cyndra had been watching her like a hawk the entire time and frankly it was beginning to unnerve her.

"Well?" Kiba's muffled voice called through the door.

"You can come in now." Sakura answer as she finished putting her equipment away.

Kiba entered with an eager Akamaru, who immediately plopped down beside Hinata. The Hyuuga giggled softly and began to smooth his fur. The great beast let out a satisfied sigh as his eyes dropped in contentment.

"What's the diagnosis?" Neji asked as he entered the room follow by Shikamaru and the twins.

The latter were clearly exhausted from their brief but intense training session. The two young boys crawled onto their mother's lap and yawned sleepily as they got comfortable.

"Tired?" Cyndra teased.

"Not tired!" The first one pouted.

"Just resting." The second concurred as they both snuggled their mother.

Cyndra smirked at the two boys and their mother before snapping her eyes to Sakura.

The medic flinched at the sudden attention.

"Well?" Cyndra _asked_ crossing her arms.

"Oh! Um…well…you see…" Cyndra's eyes narrowed in irritation.

Sakura gather her thoughts and cleared her throat.

"Memory loss is a rather difficult thing to medically observe." She swallowed as Cyndra's eyes stared blankly. "But after examining her current brain activity, it does appear that her memory is returning, albeit slowly."

Kiba let out an excited 'whoop' and the tense atmosphere in the room seemed to lessen.

"But," She continued, "I can't be sure since I couldn't observe her brain waves before we arrived. I would like to exam her at least once more before we leave for comparison."

"And when will that be?" Cyndra's hardened stare turned to Neji.

"The day after tomorrow." He acknowledge. "I know how much you detest our presence."

Cyndra nodded in agreement.

"Aww…" The twins began to whine. "So soon?"

Cyndra looked at the two with an eyebrow raised in questioned.

"Neji-san was going to show us how to do this cool eye thingy!" One started enthusiastically.

"Yeah, really cool! It made the veins on his eyes all bulgy and stuff!" The other finished with just as much excitement.

Cyndra turned to Neji with a raised eyebrow.

"Our kekkei genkai." He clarified then looked to the twins. "I will teach you the basics tomorrow. I have no doubt that you both will be able to master it on your own."

"Of course!" They chimed proudly before yawning.

Cyndra frowned but nodded in agreement anyway.

"Do whatever you want." The two tone woman said as she picked up one of the now passed out twins as Hinata stood up with the other.

Cyndra looked at Neji.

"You remember where the guest rooms are." She stated as she and Hinata began to walk deeper into the house.

Akamaru went to follow but was stopped by a harsh glare from Cyndra. He let out a pathetic whine before returning to his master's side.

Noting that Kiba was about to say something, Neji raised his hand for silence and motioned for them to follow him to their rooms.

He would let them voice their opinions there, hopefully out of the ear shot of the two tone woman.

* * *

Yay! I can go to bed now!

Just a warning, next few chapters will come slow. I'm at another gap and I have very little typed up.

So ideas are welcome.

Thanks so much for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

All is Not Lost

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.

* * *

"What the hell is her problem?" Kiba fumed. "Alright! I get it! She hates people, especially ninjas, but seriously, she even glared at Akamaru!" He stomped to a chair and sat down in a huff. "Obnoxious two tone woman." He grumbled angrily.

"I think she's hiding something." Sakura supplied as she rummaged through her medic pouch.

"Of course she's hiding something. Why else would she live out in the middle of nowhere?" Kiba sulked moodily.

Sakura sent him a mild glare, getting fed up with his whining.

Shikamaru sighed from his spot leaning against the wall.

"That doesn't matter right now. We need to focus on Hinata." The lazy jonin asserted.

Neji looked to Sakura. "Are you sure her memory is returning."

She nodded. "It appears so…but as I said before it is hard to tell when it comes to memory. We will know more when I can exam her again."

There was a knock on the door.

Hinata entered hesitantly with an arm full of blankets.

Akamaru immediately rushed to her side.

"Hinata!" Kiba greeted, eagerly jumping out of his chair, his mood suddenly 100 times brighter.

Hinata giggled and held out the blankets to the shinobi.

"Thank you Hinata-sama." Neji smiled as he took the pre-offered blankets form his cousin.

"Um…I hope the rooms are to your liking."

"Of course! Their great!" Kiba quickly reassured her.

"Um...ano…" Hinata bowed her head a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

The ninja were dumbstruck by the nostalgic sight.

"…Could I…um…train…with you?" She asked shyly as she began to fidget with her fingers.

"Of course, Hinata-sama," Neji response still slightly dazed. "May I ask why?"

"I want to remember." She stated determinedly.

"The twins are my life, but I've always felt something was missing. That there was a hole in my heart. Meeting you has been like regaining a part of myself. But even still, something is missing. I want to find out what. I want to be whole. I believe training with you, relearning my family fighting style, will help me achieve that goal. Will you help me?"

"No problem, Hinata!" Kiba jumped in happily. "We will get you up to snuff in no time!"

"I believe she was talking to Neji." Sakura shoved the over eager Inuzaka away.

"Hey! I was her teammate for years! I know just as much about her personal style as Neji, maybe even more!" He argued back, Akamaru barked in agreement.

Neji's eye twitched but ignored the arguing ninja.

"How do your protectors feel about this?" Shikamaru spoke up.

Hinata gave him a knowing smile. "The boys will probably be angry at first, but all will be forgiven all if they are allowed to join in."

She gave her cousin a soft smile. "They called you Neji-san."

He smiled back. "They did."

"It's a big deal. They must really like you."

"And your other guardian?" Shikamura voiced again watching her carefully.

"Cyndra…" She trailed off looking to the side and sighed. "Cyndra is in the forge." She looked at the others with a weak smile. "She won't be out for a while."

"The forge?" Neji asked.

Hinata nodded. "Cyndra's a blacksmith. She can make anything, from jewelry to weapons to toys." She sighed again. "She knows that once my memories return, the twins and I will leave. She always knew we would."

Akamaru whined and nudged Hinata's leg in a attempt to comfort. She patted his head and gave him a reassuring smile.

"She's not happy about it but she accepts it." Hinata spoke softly, mostly to herself.

"Well, let's get started!" Sakura chirped happily to lighten the suddenly gloomy mood.

* * *

The Kohona jonin were happy with the success they were having with the training session.

Slow but sure progress was being made as Hinata, once again, became familiar with the different formations and patterns of her family's style. A few times she even fell in step with Kiba in some tag team moves.

Her body remembers even if her head does not. It was a good sign.

The twins were another thing to be pleased about.

After they awoke from their nap they were rather angry (as their mother predicted) but their moods quickly changed for the better when they were told they could train too.

Sakura had shown them the basics of charka control and they were now able to activate their Bakugan for short intervals.

They trained until dinner, Hinata stopped early to cook, while Kiba entrained the twins with tales of past missions.

Originally he had hoped the stories would help jog Hinata's memory, but that quickly backfired as the strain of trying to recall caused she to almost faint.

If that wasn't all, the glares the twins directed at him were enough for Kiba to keep the remainder of his stories as vague as possible and eventually to only include missions that Hinata had no involvement in whatsoever.

Cyndra was a not seen for the rest of the night, she didn't even show for dinner. Hinata wasn't surprised, neither were the twins once their mother told them where the two tone woman was.

* * *

The twins were very excited.

Not only did they get to train with the ninjas yesterday, but they were going to get to train with them all day today as well.

And their day couldn't of started off better.

Neji-san had joined them and their Okaa-san for their morning warm-ups.

They liked Neji-san.

He was strong and fast, a capable fighter with considerable skills. And willing to teach them everything he knows.

He was helping them to get stronger, to better protect their Okaa-san.

They had observed him closely, as taught by Cyndra, and saw how protective he was of their Okaa-san. He cared very deeply for her, yet didn't continuously cling to her like the other ninja did.

He also didn't coddle her. He didn't hold back while sparring with her like the others did, though he admitted that he wasn't using his family techniques since they would easily cause permanent damage.

He didn't see her as weak and helpless. He respected her and her dormant skills.

They were also impressed by the way he handled Cyndra. He wasn't intimidated by her personality at all. That had quickly earned their respect.

Yes, they really liked Neji-san.

They reflected on the other ninja currently staying in their home.

They definitely liked Akamaru. Watching the hound and his master fight together in perfect harmony made their eyes wide in childish wonder.

It kind of made them envious.

Maybe they could ask Cydra if they could train one of the grizzly cubs to fight with them.

Pinky they neither liked nor disliked. They were interested in her medic techniques, impressed by her charka control and knowledge, and enjoyed how easy it was to annoy her.

So frankly she fell into the same category most people they met were in, insignificant and soon forgotten.

It might sound cruel to others, but with how much they moved around it was a pointless waste of energy to try and remember everyone they came in contact with. They would just file that information away for later in case they ran into that person again, weather as a friend or foe.

Inu-san (they called him that mostly 'cause it irked him) they leaned more towards liking.

He was always showing them useful tag team combos and tactics that only those with years of experience fighting along side another could master.

Other plus point for the Inuzuka was how much his training with their Okaa-san was helping her.

They wanted her to be able to defend herself (not that she wasn't already capable of doing so) if they weren't around to protect her.

Not that they were planning on leaving her side anytime soon, but Cyndra has always taught them to expect the unexpected. That things happen.

What they didn't like about the dog-like shinobi was his constant show of affection towards their Okaa-san.

Patting her on the head. Draping his arm over her shoulders. Giving her hugs, that lasted far too long in their opinion. Basically hanging all over her.

At first she would tense up and fidget uncomfortably at the contact, but she quickly grew accustomed to the casual touching, like it was completely natural. She was comfortable around him.

So, even though they didn't like it, the twins tolerated the mutt's close proximity to their Okaa-san.

For despite the obvious displays of affection, the boys could tell from his eyes that it was not the affection of a lover, but of a big brother.

Which was fine by them. They had no desire to be related to the dog man.

Nara Shikamaru made they wary.

Their first impression for him _screamed_ slacker. He seemed to have more interest in cloud gazing than with what was going on around him. They saw him as no threat and were about to write him off as harmless when they caught themselves.

Cyndra taught them better than that. Appearances are deceiving, they knew better than most.

Reevaluating, they realized Neji-san wouldn't have ever brought someone useless here, to where their Okaa-san was.

Pinky was here as a medic, obviously. Inu-san, to help jog Okaa-san's memories. But what about the Nara?

He was hard to read. They couldn't tell if his lazy demeanor was natural or just extremely well practiced.

Upon closer inspection they discovered he wasn't zoning out in disinterest.

He was observing them. Them. Their Okaa-san. Cyndra.

He was laid-back but guarded. Silent, intelligent, and perceptive.

Dangerous.

He was the kind of person Cyndra would credit as the best ally or worst enemy.

Their instincts told them he was the former, but they would be cautious and watch him none the less.

They will keep their Okaa-san safe.

* * *

Sorry for the wait, this chapter just didn't want to be written.

I was trying to give a little insight to the twins personality, hope it was ok.

Please do tell me if I make spelling or grammar mistakes. I don't have a proof reader and after reading the same chapter ten times over my brain just starts auto correcting what I'm trying to say.

I hope you enjoyed. Please review. It makes me try to update faster.


	11. Chapter 11

All is Not Lost

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Cyndra and the twins are mine.

* * *

Neji watched with pride as the twins trained with Kiba and Akamaru after breakfast.

The meal had passed much the same as dinner the night before.

Hinata cooked a vast amount of food, which Kiba greedily scarfed down, as the twins bounced in their seats, eager to continue their training. Sakura lightly scolded Akamaru as he begged for scraps beside Hinata. Shikamaru sat half asleep at the other end of the table.

Cyndra was still nowhere to be seen. Neji didn't mind that one bit. It was a nice to not have to deal with the two toned woman's attitude for awhile.

Neji's musing were cut short as he sensed someone approaching.

Activating his bloodline, Neji 'saw' a dozen people slowly advancing on horseback.

"Are you expecting company?" He asked his cousin over his shoulder.

Instantly the twins were at their mother's side.

"Which direction?" They demanded, activating their kekkei genkai.

"Northwest. About half mile. Just beyond the tree bend." Neji responded, watching the boys as they turned towards the direction indicated. They squinted their eyes, trying to see beyond the trees before them.

"Don't strain yourselves." He warned.

They ignored him and continued to focus on expanding their range of sight.

They scowled and blinked away their bloodline, panting slightly.

"It's Baldy and his old man." They spoke with distaste.

"Oh my, Cyndra won't be pleased." Hinata stated as she began to gather her hair in a high messy bun. "Go inform Cyndra that they're here." She told the twins as she continued to secure her hair. "I will greet our guests."

The twins stubbornly crossed their arms. Not liking that idea at all. "We'll stay too." They stated resolutely. "Cyndra probably already knows they're here." They added trying to convince her.

"True," Hinata said absentmindedly as she rummaged through a small bag on her hip. "But you two are not properly dressed to receive guests, now are you?" She smiled at the boys as she pulled out a long black cloth with blue and green stripes and proceeded to wrap it around her pined up hair.

The boys let out a huff and pouted at their mother.

The Kohona nin watched bewilder. They didn't understand what Hinata was saying, or doing for that matter. She had finished wrapping her dark hair leaving only her bangs visible.

"Cyndra is always telling you to be better prepared." The female Hyuuga mused as she dug through her bag again.

The two grunted at their mother before turning around and stomping off towards the house. They paused halfway and looked back at their ninja guests. They glanced at Hinata then again at the ninja.

"You'll watch over Okaa-san." They demanded more than asked.

"Boys." Hinata reprimanded firmly. "They can't interfere and you know it. Now go inside before they see you." She spoke, pulling out what appeared to be strands of dark blue, green, and red hair.

The young boys open their mouths to protest again when Hinata cut them off.

"The longer it takes for you to change, the longer I'll be in their company."

"Hn." The two acknowledged their defeat and rushed off to the house.

The Kohona nin watched in confusion as Hinata placed the multi-colored pieces on her head. She combed her fingers through the colorful strands, mixing them with her own indigo tresses.

"Perhaps you should go inside." She spoke to them as she continued getting ready, her back now facing them. "Cyndra won't be pleased if you interfere with her business." They watched as she placed something into her eyes. She turned to them. Their jaws dropped in shock.

Her eyes now had pupils and were hazel brown. Her hair was an even mix of striped blues, purples, greens, and reds.

She walked away from them, moving to the side of the house where the men would emerge.

A sense of dread filled Neji as he watched her walk away.

He realized just how easy it would be for Cyndra to make good on her threat, to make them disappear. How close they were to have never known Hinata was still alive. Cyndra could of had them disguised themselves that day, or simply just hidden them deep within the house for the last few hours of their stay.

Cyndra had allowed them to meet, to find Hinata.

In a daze, he walked with his fellow shinobi to the side of the house.

It was a silent consensus that they would just watch for now.

Two men wearing rich finery rode around the bend of trees followed by ten other men wearing armor. Judging by their appearance the two were probably nobles and the others, their bodyguards. Hinata stood facing away from the oncoming guests.

"Kayla! My lovely! How are you today?" The younger noble called out. He seemed to be in his early thirties and had long overly done light brown hair. He wore an expensive royal blue kimono encrusted with gold strands in intricate designs. Not really something one would wear while traveling.

The Shinobi watched horror stricken as an smirk formed on Hinata's face. A devious grin that would have been out of place on the female Hyuuga, looked completely natural on this multi-colored doppelgänger.

She turned to face the nobles.

"Fujiroka-sama," she responded with a slight bow of the head. "I didn't know we were expecting you." She spoke in a sultry tone which caused the shinobi's jaws to drop.

"I had business in the nearby village and decide to see if that demon child was still lurking around here." The elder spoke. His long gray hair was tied back and his kimono, through probably as expensive as his son's, was far more modest and fit for traveling in.

The younger quickly slipped off his horse and snatched up Hinata's hand into his own. He brought it up to his thin lips placing a kiss on the back of her hand as he stared at her with a hungry glint in his eyes.

It took every bit of Neji's self-control to not march up to that sniveling little noble and bash his face in for daring to touch his cousin like that. Kiba and Akamaru were being held back by Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu. Even Sakura looked ready to take the cocky noble out.

"Kayla, your ever growing beauty never creases to amaze me. You are truly a rare flower hidden among thorns." He spoke with enough cheesy enthusiasm to make Lee proud, though his predatory gazed ruined any sincerity.

"Fujiroka-san, you flatter me too much." Hinata responded flirtatiously, surprising the Kohona nin even farther. Sakura was especially shocked.

On the few seduction missions the two kunoichi went on together, the pinkette had never seen Hinata behave in such a way. She would always end up a stuttering, blushing mess whenever she tried to flirt with her targets, through it worked for her. She radiated such an air of innocence that just drew men like moths to a flame.

Now she was a temptress. Coy and seductive. Nothing like the shy woman Sakura had grown up with.

It scared her. This wasn't Hinata. The medic finally understood why Neji was so wary. If she had run into this 'Kayla' in some random village, she never would have recognize her as her dear friend.

Hinata giggled as she discreetly pulled her hand out of Fujiroka's grasp.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" She purred to the young noble.

His eyes darkened as he licked his lips, but he was cut off before he could speak his request.

"Ane-san!"

* * *

The twins names won't be revealed for a few chapters still, but if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading.

Please review.


	12. Chapter 12

I am soooo sorry. I will make my excuses at the end, let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra, the twins, and the other OCs are mine.

Just to avoid confusion: Cyndra refers to the father as Fuji and his son as Fujiruka.

* * *

All is Not Lost

Chapter 12

"Ane-san! Ane-san! Over here!" A childish squeal rang out, gaining everyone's attention.

Shikamaru's brain was going on overdrive as he watched Cyndra and the two boys emerge from the house and walk towards the nobles and their entourage. The Nara was glad that he no longer needed to hold Kiba and Akamaru back, as they were currently too dumbstruck to move, he doubted he would have been able to focus on his shadow possession jutsu under the circumstances.

His first thought, random as it was, was that Cyndra had cut her hair. The two-toned locks that, just yesterday, hung past her butt now stopped at her shoulders. It was also covered in a thick layer of soot that caused it to look completely black. It was clear she was coming straight from the forge. Her face was smudged with ash and her clothes were covered in grime. Only her hands and forearms where soot free, she probably just washed them before coming out.

A firm line was settled on her face as she made for way towards her 'guests'. Hinata was right, Cyndra was not pleased at all.

But it was the two boys Shikamaru couldn't take his eyes off of as they walked on either side of the ash covered woman.

The one on Cyndra's left was carefully cradling a long, dark brown wooden box to his chest. His once dark unruly hair was now stark white, perfectly straight, and hung down to his shoulders. His trademark Hyuuga eyes now had pupils and were a deep violet.

The other boy was practically his opposite. His hair was teal in color and laid atop his head in thick curls and his eyes were blood red.

He also was carrying a wooden box. This one was white and only half the size of the other, but even so the young boy fumbled with it as he toddled forward. He was walking with clumsy steps rather then the sure quick moments that the dark haired jonin had seen just minutes before during training.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, observing closer. It wasn't just how they moved that was different, it was the way they were carrying themselves.

The white haired one kept his back straight, spine elongated making him look taller than he really was. The clothes he wore made him appear to be tall and lanky and closer to the age of seven.

The other one's clothes were bulky, making him look chubby and much shorter than his brother. He was also slouching, though it was almost impossible to tell, as his clothes hid his form like a turtle's shell.

The over all affect was that the two boys no longer appeared to be related at all, let alone identical twins. The size difference alone made it seem that the two boys were at least two years apart.

The three of them finally reached the nobles, stopping next to Hinata. The curly top was panting heavily as he held the wooden box like it weighed ten white hair was far more composed. He stood staring off into the distance with droopy eyes. He looked half asleep. A large yawn from the boy completed the image.

"Fuji." Cyndra acknowledged the elder noble with a slight nod. "Why are you at my house?" She demanded emotionlessly.

"_We_ were merely in the neighbor and wished to see if you had finished your commission yet." The younger spoke for his father, annoyed that she didn't him acknowledge his presence along with his father.

"Are those them?" The elder asked, ignoring both, as he stared at the wooden boxes with excitement in his eyes.

Cyndra simply nodded as she took the white box from the relieved curly top who immediately plopped down still recovering from the 'strenuous' task. Hinata bent over and ruffled the red-eyed child's hair cooing "Good boy" and other words of encouragement. He beamed up at her and began to rattle off about his day in childish gibber.

Cyndra walked up to the elder, who by now had been helped off his horse by two of the guards, and held out the white box.

With childish glee he opened it and stared in wonder at its contents before reaching in and picking it up. Relevantly he pulled out a pristine jeweled hand fan. The handle was made of black pearl decorated with swirls of crushed topaz. He gently opened it revealing a majestic scene of the slivery night sky on beautiful dark blue silk. He held it up to the sun, marveling at how the 'stars' glittered in the light.

As Fuji continued playing with the beautiful fan, flipping it over and snapping it open and shut over again and again, Cyndra scanned the group of bodyguards with contempt.

It wasn't uncommon for a noble like Fuji to to be escorted by two or three personal bodyguards, possibly more when traveling with one of his children.

Said bodyguards were, more often than not, descendants of samurai. Bred and raised to live, fight and die for their master. They were well trained and refined (sometimes even more so than their masters) and, most importantly, knew their place. They followed protocol. Spoke only when spoken to. And kept blank faces.

There was three such men in the party. The two for Fuji stood close to their master, they were the ones who had helped him off his horse and now protectively flanked him on either side.

The single guard for for the son stood off to the side holding the reins of his lord's steed. He was most likely ordered to keep his distance by the over confident noble.

Cyndra studied the other six men.

The two oldest ones had remained on their horses and were well into their thirties. They sported ugly scars on their harden bodies, and watched their surroundings with cautious, observant eyes. They were veterans in this world of fierce survival, that much was certain.

The other four were nothing but brats. Mere teenagers. Their inexperience showed in their restlessly movements and their eagerness for battle shone in their wild eyes.

The six's overall appearance was grimy and rough. Their clothing and weapons were old and worn. Unlike the other three, whose clothing and weapons were new, well made and bore their lord's insignia.

Cyndra quickly deduced that these men were no more than hired bandits, probably picked up at the last town they were in.

Cyndra growled to herself. Not only had they come to her house uninvited, but they brought complete strangers with them as well. Intolerable.

She knew the cause of this major breach of contract. Fujiroka. That spoiled brat of a noble. The little whelp didn't know his place. He didn't just see himself as her equal, but as her superior. Didn't that pampered child know that only a few generation ago, his family were the same as the peasants he look down on. Didn't he realize it takes just one bad economic turn to put them out on the streets, or worse, in their graves.

She decided to turn her attention to one of her less annoying guest.

"New recruits Takeo?" She asked the guard closest to Fuji. "It seems they are in need of basic training... and manners." She tilted her head motioning to the bandits, specifically the teenagers who had left their horses had and now stood hovering just a few yards away from.

It wasn't lost on her that they were openly staring at Angel and herself.

She understood men would look, it's only natural. It was the staring and drooling that tick her off.

Of course Angel's outfit didn't help matters either. Her kimono was partially open and hung loosely at her shoulders (true to form of 'Kayla'), giving the ogling men a generous view of her cleavage. Their eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets when Angel had bent over. Cyndra thought they were going to passed out with nose bleeds.

'Now _that_ would have been entertaining'. She mused.

"They are temporary hires of the young master's." Takeo answered cautiously after a slight pause. "He was concerned-"

"My father spent quite a bit of money on these gifts for my niece and nephew." Fujiroka interjected with self importance. "And these woods are dangerous. It would be a shame if we met with some... unfortunate mishap on our journey to retrieve them."

"It don't recall you ever being so concerned with my wares." Cyndra replied in monotone.

"And what fine wares you have indeed." One of the young bandits randomly chimed in and was ignored.

"I have always been concerned with my fathers investments. Especially when they involve my own." Fujiroka added as his eyes glanced behind Cyndra to the multi-colored woman behind her. His eyes held that predatory light as he spoke with self confidence.

"Money is no object when it comes to securing precious assets." His voice was sickening sweet as his eyes still set on Angel waiting for a positive response. He was ignored though as she continued to tend to the boys, seemingly not hearing the conversation. The bandits snickered at the lord's failed attempt at conquest.

"Hn..." Cyndra turned away from them apparently bored.

She knew the fool had his sights set on Angel from the moment he met her. Unfortunately for him, throwing his money around didn't work. Flowery words and expensive gifts had yet to impress the the multi-colored beauty. So now it seems, judging by the sudden new hires, he has finally decided to resort to force to get want he wanted.

Cyndra scoffed. This punk had no idea who he was messing with. He if thought she would just roll over and let him have his way, he had another thing coming.

Finally satisfied, Fuji gently placed the fan back in the box.

"Marvelous, absolutely marvelous." He whispered in awe, completely oblivious to the previous conversation.

Cyndra nodded in acknowledgement to the praise as she she returned the box to curly top and retrieved the one from whitey.

The noble looked even more excited then before. He snapped the box open as soon as it was in reach. Cyndra stood impassively as the old man practically swooned. The younger stepped forward and snatched the item from its case.

It was an elegant long sword encased in a black scabbard. Red vines made of crushed gemstones wrapped around the dark sheath as red drops of blood shaped rubies dripped down to gather at its chape. Blood red leaves of garnet protected its black hilt.

The noble ignored Cyndra's annoyed glare as he carelessly removed the blade from its sheath. Dropping the casing he began to randomly swing the deadly weapon. Obviously he was no swordsman.

His father watched in shocked horror as his son childishly played with the dangerous, and expensive, saber.

"Enough Jurou! That isn't a toy." The elders scolding faded to more of a whine as his son ignored him and continued to recklessly handle the blade.

Fuji shot a wary glance at Cyndra. Her eyes were blank, her form rigid, other than a slight twitch of an eyebrow she didn't move. The old man began to panic and turned to his son once again. Jurou paused momentarily, examining the blade in his hands.

"Such an average looking sword. I expected more from the infamous demon blacksmith." Jurou stated with boredom as he gave the sword another careless swing causing the sword to slip from his hand. The blade stabbed into the ground and sank halfway to the hilt.

The noble coughed lightly into his hand trying to ignore the mocking laughter of the bandits behind him.

The white haired child sighed and looked at the younger noble without an ounce of emotion in his violet eyes.

"Seriously Baldy, can't control your blade let alone your men. You truly are... what's that word... when one is lacking in necessary skills..."

"Impotent! Impotent!" The curly top squealed in delight.

Fujiroka blanched before turning red with rage as the laughter behind him grew.

'These brats!' He stomped over the blade and pulled it out of the ground.

He absolutely detested children. He was fortunate to be his father's youngest, he couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he had to deal with younger siblings. It was even more fortunate that all his older siblings with children lived far enough away that he only had to see those brats in rare occasions.

But now his father was whining about him giving him grandchildren. Even going so far as to threaten his inheritance. The old goat had the nerve to say that those continuing the family line needed more to live on. Fine. If the old man wanted grandchildren, he'd give him grandchildren.

Jurou smirked, that's were his lovely flower came in. He's been bored with his current two wives for awhile now and was is want of some new companionship. Oh yes, she would make all this nonsense of children far more...pleasurable. And he was positive she would keep his interest for quite some time. On second thought, perhaps he should keep the other two around as breeding stalk and just use the lovely Kayla solely for his entertainment purposes.

Jurou was snapped out of his lecherous musings by Kayla's voice.

"No, no Colt," She giggled lightly patting the red eyed child's head. The noble's ears perked up. Ahh, his lovely flower was going to correct those ill-mannered brats.

"The word he was looking for was 'incompetent'." She stated sweetly to the curly top. Jurou's pride deflated in disappointment. That's not what he had in mind.

"Wha's the dif-ance?" The boy asked innocently in slight baby talk.

"Nothing really," Whitey shrugged. "Either way he's not much of a man." He deadpanned.

Fujiroka glared at the child. The bandits had tears in their eyes and were holding their stomachs from laughing so hard.

"Jasper, apologize to Fujiroka-san." Kayla lightly scolded the white haired child.

"I'm sorry Fujiroka-san," He began, not sounding the least bit apologetic, "I'm sorry that you are incapable of satisfying a woman."

Fujiroka snapped. He dropped the blade and lunged forward to seize the white haired child, fulling intending to ring the brat's neck.

Jasper didn't so much as blink as the rage filled noble advanced. He knew he had nothing to worry about. Seriously, the man was an idiot.

Jurou was stopped inches before reaching his target by a crushing grip on his wrist. He was suddenly yanked back and yelped in pain as his arm was bent backwards in an odd angle.

"Bad move Baldy." Colt giggled.

* * *

Thank you for reading.

Again I'm sooo sorry for taking so long to update. I have a semi-vaild excuse.

I asked a friend to read my story (she's the only person I know who reads fanfiction), hoping to have someone to bounce ideas off of, and she hated it. She said they couldn't get past the first chapter because of the writing style. I told her more of the story to try and see if that would help and basically her response was that she was glad she didn't read more of it.

Needless to say I was totally depressed about it and had no motivation to work on it for a while. Then I had to move and deal with family stuff and looking for a knew job and next thing I knew three months had passed.

So again I'm sorry and will try not to let that happen again. I will be shooting for weekly updates but don't hold your breathe.

Please review. It will keep me motivated knowing people want to read my story. Feel free to ask questions, make requests and/or correct mistakes.

Thanks for all the reviews so far and thank you for reading.


End file.
